Button



(N6 Model.)

. C. S. GOODING- BUTTON.

No. 495,220. I Patented Apr. 11, 1893. v

PEP?

WITNEEEEEII I V NTEJF E UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES S. GOODING, OF BROOKLINE, MASSACHUSETTS.

BUTTON.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 495,220, dated April 11, 1893.

Application filed October 10, 1892. Serial No. 448,284. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, CHARLES S. Goonmo, of Brookline, in the county of Norfolk and State of Massachusetts, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Buttons, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to buttons comprising a head, a shank and a foot, adapted to be screwed into and out of a piece of material, the foot being of spiral construction, so that it can work its way into the material when rotated in the proper direction.

The invention has for its object to provide an improved button of this class, and it consists in the improvements which I will now proceed to describe and claim.

Of the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification: Figure 1 represents a side view of a button embodying my invention, the head of the button being, shown in section. Fig. 2 represents a view of the under side of the button. Fig. 3 represents a side view and partial section, showing the shank of the button inserted in the head,before the completion of the head and shank. Fig. 4 represents a perspective view of the foot and shank, without the head. Fig. 5 represents a side view of the blank from which the foot and shank are made. Fig. 6 represents a length of wire cut up into the blanks shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 7 represents a section on line 77, Fig. 1.

The same letters of reference indicate the same parts in all the figures.

In the drawings: a, represents the head of a button; 1) represents the shank or neck, which is secured to said head; and b represents the foot, which is formed on said shank and is adapted to be screwed into and out of a piece of material. The head is made of papier-mach or other similar material adapted to be molded by pressure. The shank and foot are made of a single piece of wire,which is fiat in cross section, as shown in Fig. 7. One end of the shank is suitably embedded in the head by the following means. The shank is forked or bifurcated at one end, to form prongs b 17 the inner sides of which are oppositely inclined or beveled so that when they are forced into a mass of material such as papier mach their tendency will be to roll or curl outward. Said bifurcated end is formed into the blank 0/ (Fig. 3), from which the button head is made, before said blank is molded or compressed into its final shape. The insertion of the prongs into the blank a causes them to separate or curl outwardly to some extent, as shown in Fig. 3, after which the blank is subjected to a powerful molding pressure which compresses it to substantially the form indicated in Fig. 1, said pressure also additionally curling the prongs and thus more securely engaging the shank with the head. I prefer to engage the shank with the head and form the head by pressure after the foot is formed, although I do not limit myself to this order of procedure.

The button shank made of a single piece of wire bifurcated at one end to form prongs having oppositely inclined or beveled inner sides, is an important feature of my invention. Heretofore in all cases a wire shank engaged with a papier mach button head by a spreading or curling action has two independent ends which are capable of being indefinitely separated from each other by the pressure of the material between said ends, the shank having heretofore been composed of two end portions of a piece of wire, the central portion of which has been bent to form an eye or foot portion the ends of the piece being brought together side by side to form a two part shank. There is nothing to bind or tie together the two parts of the said shank, hence when the shank is forced into the button head there is a separation of the sides or parts along the entire length of the shank, the result being an opening of the shank that are embedded in the button head.

It will be seen that by making the shank of a single piece of wire and bifurcating the same at one end only to form the prongs 1) b I tie together and firmly unite the bases of those portions of the shank which are bent or curled outwardly to engage the shank with the button head, the result being the curling or bending of only those parts of the shank that are embedded in the button head. There is therefore a firmer engagement of the shank with the button head than would be possible if the entire shank were divided as heretofore, so that it would be caused to spread along its entire length instead of at its outer end only. It will also be noted that in a single piece of wire bifurcated as shown, the prongs of the wire do not project sidewise beyond the outside edges of the wire before being driven into the blank, so that when driven, the hole made at the point of entrance is no wider than the shankwhereas in the shank composed of two end portions of a piece of wire, the ends are separated so that when driven into a blank the hole made at the point of entrance is wider than the double thickness of wire, thus weakening the button by making it easier to pull the shank out of the button head.

The foot Z) is made by bending a portion of the shank spirally, as clearly shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 4, the convolutions of the spiral lying in one plane, which is substantially at right angles with the shank.

It will be seen that, by making the shank and the foot of fiat wire, the shank is given sufficient strength and stiffness, and the foot is given a sufficient area on its under side to prevent it from indenting the material on which it bears to such an extent as to deface said material or cause discomfort to the wearer of the article to which the button is attached, the foot having no point projecting outside of the plane of the spiral.

In forming the blanks for the shank and foot, I prefer to cut up a length of wire in the manner indicated in Fig. 6, the material cut away in forming the prongs b constituting the contracted outer end of the spiral foot.

I claim A two part button composed of, first, a single piece of wire pronged at one end, a part of said piece constituting a straight shank which includes the pronged end, while the residue of the blank is bent outwardly at right angles with the shank and coiled to form a spiral foot; and, secondly, a head in which the said pronged end is bent or clinched, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witn esses,this 7th day of October, A. D. 1892.

CHARLES S. GOODING.

Witnesses:

O. F. BROWN, M. W. J ACKSON. 

